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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hope you like this after the mass posting. The next chapter will be posted on Sunday night. There is a warning for this chapter, if you don't want to spoil any of the story, look away now:


*character death in thi chapter*

Ok you can look again now!! Please leave me a review. it will encourage ,me to post more frequently like last week!! Thank you!
Chapter 31: Final choices.

Since their first meeting that afternoon, William had hardly left his room. He barely met with company and was far from aware as to what was going on in the world around him. His appearance became paler, as the sun no longer touched his skin, and he spent most of his days trying to console his loss with a large bottle of scotch that had always sat on his desk. He mourned the loss of Buffy by writing copious amounts of poetry, all praising her beauty and radiance. Each poem he wrote, he would then dutifully throw in the fire that he left burning constantly in the grate. He did not want to keep reminders of the girl he had loved, yet unable to ever forget her. She was in his thoughts every waking moment, and haunting his dreams when he slept. She burnt in his mind, brighter than the fire.

Willow and the rest of the servants tried in vain to comfort him, but they knew their efforts where fruitless. After a while they gave in trying, as fresh tragedy was about to grip them. The loss of one of their own.

***
It had been three weeks since Buffy had last seen William, and still her hearted ached immeasurable, as though he was stood in front of her now. Every time she thought of him, she could hear Mr. Lillian’s words echoed in her ears. Drusilla was marrying William. There was nothing she could do to stop the wedding.

Her own wedding was fast approaching. She accepted it with a gentle calm. She had long since closed off the part of her that cared, she knew that she was doing the right thing. The best thing for her family.

Contrary to what Riley kept asking her, Buffy hadn’t moved in to his home. She continued living in the small cottage with her whole family, and would stay there until her wedding night.

As she climbed into her bed, she realised with a sinking feeling it was only seven more days and then she would be Mrs Riley Finn. Closing her eyes she tried to block the feelings that threatened to overwhelm her.

***
Unaware to William, the entire of Hartley Manor was under threat from small consumption. Liam had first contracted the illness, and had since not left his bed. Through love for her husband, Lady Darla had not left his side. The pair had not been seen out in public for at least two weeks.

With William locking himself in his room and Liam and Darla not leaving theirs, the entire manor seemed stark and lifeless, except for the scuttle of the servants.

As for the servants they where unsure whether Lady Darla was actually staying with her husband because of her love for him, or because he was Liam himself was forcing her too. Either way she hadn’t left their bedroom for the last few weeks.

Though concerned for their masters, the servant household didn’t worry too much; they just carried on working at their normal pace, while caring for the sick. That was until one of their own caught the disease. Larry had first started to show symptoms the Tuesday after Liam had, a full week since William had bombarded himself in his room. Without the sufficient funds to buy the medical attention he required himself, and neither of his Masters in a suitable place to pay the doctors for him themselves, Larry was left to suffer on his own.

The rest of the servants tried as hard as they could to help him, by making herbal remedies and possibly cures. However without the proper medical assistance their efforts where futile and had only prolonged the inevitable. Within a week and a half of first showing symptoms, Larry died.

The house fell into disarray. The servants all panicked over who would be next to contract the frightening and deadly disease. They knew that only one of them could be next in line, there seemed to be no stopping it.

Amy seemed particularly distraught over the death of Larry. It was later found out that the two of them had been courting, and that it had been Larry’s intention to propose to Amy and make an honest woman out of her. After his death Amy seemed inconsolable and was barely able to carry on working.

As for the rest of the servants in the house, they approached Liam and Darla’s room with trepidation. The slightest sign of what appeared to them to be forms of symptoms, and that person would be sent to their room for fear of contaminating the other servants.

Oz had appeared to have the symptoms soon after Larry, and had been locked in his room straight away, away from everyone. Willow had been distraught. It had become common knowledge that the red head cared very deeply for Oz, as he did for her.

She feared that this devil disease would bring his death. However after two days of being alone in his room, Oz’s symptoms did not seem to have changed at all, and his illness was therefore deemed as nothing more than a common cold and he was allowed back to work. Willow felt immense amount of relief. She had been so scared of losing him; she knew now what she felt for Oz must be love.

In a house full of sorry, the return of Oz was a welcome relief. However more sorrow was on its way.

Within two days of Larry passing away, Master Liam lost his battle with the illness. Within an hour, Lady Darla joined him in the afterlife. The house was in shock. With Liam and Darla now gone, it left William as master of the Manor now. However with him not aware of anything that was going on around him, the servants all worried about what was going to happen to them.

Everyone knew though that with Liam and Darla no longer with them, the threat of consumption had left Hartley Manor.

By request in his will, Liam’s attorney arranged all the funeral details, leaving it just up to William to attend. The funeral was held a few days after the deaths. While the house grieved William stayed locked in his rooms. He cared nothing for the death of his parents; they meant nothing to him now, not after everything that they had done. Nor did he care about the riches that he had inherited. The only thing that William could bring himself to care about was Elizabeth, the one thing he couldn’t have.

***
Buffy was unaware of anything that had been going on at Hartley Manor. She knew nothing of the funerals or of the loss of Larry. Though most of the town knew and it was general talk, Elizabeth barely ventured outside, so had become unaware. Dawn had found out soon after it had happened, as she had taken up the role of going to the market for the family. Yet she did not share the information with her family, she did not want to cast her sister into an even further despair.

The only thing Elizabeth cared and feared now was her imminent wedding.

As she awoke on the Saturday of her big day, she lay in bed with the sound of Dawn snoring lightly next to her. She stared at her wedding dress hung on the back of the door. Riley had insisted on buying it for her, even though it cost five times what she got paid. Although grateful Buffy couldn’t help thinking that it didn’t even compare to the one William had bought her. There was no thought or caring in this dress, it was simply a boast of how much money Mr Finn possessed.

The simplicity of the dress just demonstrated the vast difference between the man she loved and the man she was marrying.

Climbing out of the bed, she went and had a simple strip wash, ready to prepare for her big day. The day that would change the rest of her life.

Staring out of the window she saw the rain beginning to fall. It just mirrored her sombre mood. Closing her eyes, she blocked out the dull weather.

Drying her watering eyes before any of her family saw how her heart was breaking over today, she looked back at her reflection. This was for them; she didn’t need them to know what it was taking out of her.

As she heard Dawn start to move about she called her over to the little room she was in.

“Dawnie honey, could you help me with my petti-coat and pass me the dress. Then will you get mom to help with my hair?.”

“Sure” Dawns voice sounded groggy from sleep.

Handing Buffy the dress, they hung it on the back on the door, and then Dawn helped do Buffy up.

As Dawn left the room to go and get Joyce Buffy sat down and stared at herself in the mirror.

***
“Mom, Buffy’s ready to have her hair done.” Heading downstairs she found her mother sat at the kitchen table. She still wore her nightclothes and her hair was up in rags ready for the big day.

“Coming honey.” Together the two of them made their way back up the stairs and to where Buffy was waiting.

As they entered the tiny room, the first thing that Dawn noticed was the wedding dress lay strewn across the floor, discarded.

Picking it up before her mom entered, she turned to glare at Buffy. However instead of seeing her meek sister stood there, the room was completely empty, and the shutters on the window were wide open, allowing the rain to come inside.

With panicked eyes, Dawn spun round to look at her Mom who was just entering the room.

“Mom! Buffy’s gone!”

TBC…

Dodges the things thrown at me! Yes I know, that was an evil chapter and en evil cliffhanger. Leave me a review and you may get the next chapter sooner than sunday!!





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